Unknown Ticking noise?

[Henessaayyy]

I went and had a look at a B16 and noticed at idle there was a loud ticking noise, sounded like something was loose? Normally I'd suspect a belt, but this sound was coming from around the head. I noticed it more as I got closer to the distributor.

I put a screwdriver on the dizzy and put my ear on the other end and the strongest noise was actually from the dizzy. I can only assume that it's a minor problem as the engine runs fine.

Can any mechanics be of service?
Cheers.

[chowdaa]

Just a punt, but couple of things i have heard.
Ticking could be valve clearances or that distributor bearing

[cristian]

a friend of mine used to have a clear dizzy cap on his b16 del sol and a ticking noise would come from it...
it wasn't until one night we opened the engine bay that we could see one of the points grounding the spark towards a small crack on the cap...
im not sure if this is the exact same problem happening with your car, but the way my friend got around this problem was sealing the crack with the same blue adhesive you put on head gaskets...

[beeza]

Gasket sealant.

Or just replace the dizzy cap,that would be a better option.

It's definately not the tappets?

[Henessaayyy]

I can't determine what it is, I had a look at it as I was going to buy it... But the ticking got me worried. It wasn't the best at idle either - I could only assume because it hadn't been turned on in a while.

As for the ticking noise. It didn't seem like it was an issue in regards to the motor running. Anyone have any other experiences?

[Gio]

tappets

Check.

[beeza]

Whack a vid up!